Judging Righteously: Are Christians Supposed To Judge?

Judging Righteously

This is without a doubt the most common misconception and for myself one of the more frustrating examples of scripture being taken out of context. If you don’t already know, you cannot pluck out any verse you want from the Bible and apply it to whatever it is you are talking about. You must understand the context in which the verse you are reading is being used. Because so many people take verses out of context and blindly apply it to everything, there is an abundance of inaccurate teachings going around. The misconception I am focusing on today about judging others derives from Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged”. 

Hypocrites!

When Jesus said this, he was referring to the hypocrisy he was witnessing amongst the people. If you continue to read the verse Jesus goes on to illustrate what he meant by saying, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye,’.(Matthew 7: 2-5).

Rightfully Judging

“Judge not, that ye be not judged” in context means, do not hypocritically judge another. The verse urges a person to focus on the sin they have not yet overcome before ridiculing another. Once you overcome that sin and remove it from your life, only then can you effectively and rightfully assist your brother in their sin or bondage. 

Many so-called Christians spend too much time worrying about the sins of unbelievers, constantly pointing them out while they themselves are leading a life in contradiction to the Word of God. These are the people who give Christians a bad name and who do more harm than good by being hypocritical. These are often lukewarm Christians that proclaim their salvation but have yet to truly be transformed. 

This type of person is mentioned again in Romans 2: 1-3, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God,”?

Test The Spirits

Scripture also states in John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” The Bible instructs believers to rightfully judge, in order to discern what is of God and what is not. Rightfully judging to separate the truth from error. Believers are to test everything as instructed in 1 John 4:1-21.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this, you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them”.

The individuals who use Matthew 7: 1 out of context do so to prevent themselves from being judged for something. The truth offends people and people will at all costs use scripture out of context in attempts to prevent any conviction. So the next time you catch yourself or someone else citing Matthew 7:1, examine whether the verse is being used out of context, as a way to avoid the truth.

Lukewarm Believers

I want you to ask yourself a question, and be completely honest with yourself for a minute, letting go of your ego and separating the answer you want to be true from the actual truth. Okay, if someone were to look at 2 pictures of your life; one picture of what your life looked like before coming to God and the second picture is what your life looks like since being saved. Do these pictures look the same? Are there any stark and noticeable differences, or are you doing exactly what you have always done?

If you held up these 2 pictures of your life next to each other, there should be 2 very different pictures. So much so, that a stranger who doesn’t know you could tell which of those 2 pictures represents your life since being saved. If you are being honest with yourself and you do not like the answer to the question, chances are you’re a lukewarm believer. What Jesus has to say about lukewarm believers should rattle you.

 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth”. (Revelation 3: 15-16).

Neither Hot Or Cold

I know while reading that verse I was not only convicted of leading a lukewarm life, but those words chilled me to the bone. The word used in this translation SPUE means to revile or to violently vomit out. I don’t think this choice of terminology was by accident; it gives the reader a mental picture that precisely describes Jesus’ view of the lukewarm church. I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t want Jesus to revile me with such disdain that it induces vomiting.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with Matthew 7:21-23, hoping the severity of these things will be made clear to you.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’